Draw-bar attachment.



PATENTED MARTSI, 1903,

P. U. ANDERSON. DRAW BA-B. ATTACHMENT. APPLICATION FILED APR. 14, 1902.

HO MODEL.

fnwen fak 4 a; zmi'wy UNITED STATE PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK C. ANDERSON, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, AS SIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, OF PART OF HIS RIGHT TO ROBERT H. DORSEY, OF NORWOOD, OHIO, AND N. PAUL FENNER, JR., AND FRANK M. FOSTER,

OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

DRAW- BAR ATTAC H M ENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 724,372, dated March 31, 1903.

Application filed April 14, 1902. Serial No. 102.90l. (No model.) 7

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK C. ANDERSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Draw-Bar Attachments, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this IO specification.

My invention relates to that class of drawbars for coupling railway-cars which are of the automatic type and employ pivoted interlocking knuckles contained within the jaws or mouth of such draw-bars in contradistinotiouto that class of draw-bars which employ coupling-links and link-pins; and it has for its object the provision of means whereby each draw-bar supports the other against mago terial vertical displacement in case of the breakage or pulling out of either of the drawbars from its car. 7 Y

One of the material causes of accidents in the derailing and wrecking of trains occurs from the breakage or pulling out of the drawbar and its falling upon the road-bed, where it may become entangled with the trucks of following cars or may get across the rail, and thereby wreck the whole train. My invention is intended to entirely obviate this danger by preventing a draw-bar in case of its breakage or pulling from its fastenings from falling down or being uncoupled from its adjacent draw-bar.

5 The object of my invention is accomplished by the provision of supporting hooks or brackets on each coupling-knuckle of a drawbar which are so disposed as to lie under the head of the opposing draw-bar when the two are coupled and to be so arranged that the ends of such hooks or brackets will take underand engage with ribs or flanges on the head of the draw-bar should the latter drop below an engaging position, as would be the 5 case in event of the-pulling out or breakage of either draw-bar.

The novelty of my invention will be hereinafter set forth, and specifically pointed out in the claim.

any suitable manner.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a plan view of the heads of a pair of interlocked draw-bars, showing the application of my invention thereto. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the head of one of the draw-bars with its knuckle open. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one of the knuckles provided with an engaging hook in the preferred form of my construction.

The same letters of reference are used to indicate identical parts in all the figures.

A A represent the heads of two draw-bars of the modern interlocking type now required on'all railways, and B represents the rear extensions of such draw-bars by which they are attached to the draft-rigging in the usual or The heads A have on their opposing bases the usual jaw-mouths, to one side of each of which is pivoted the locking-knuckle C. Formerly these lockingknuckles had horizontal slots in them for the reception of the ends of links when it was desired to couple a car of the old type with an ordinary link-coupling to a car provided with one of the modern automatic couplings; but I dispense entirely with such horizontal slot and make each knuckle entirely solid except where it is pivoted, as at a, to the head of the coupler, and in place of the round holes for the passage of ordinary couplingpins through the knuckles I provide aper- 8o tures, preferably rectangular in cross-section, through which are passed the shanks D of bracket-hooks E. Said bracket-hooks E extend beneath the heads of the couplers a sufficient distance so as not to interfere with their ordinary vertical movement, owing to inequalities in the track-surface or in event of two adjacent cars being of unequal height, and their outer ends, which are set at an angle to the line of draft, as shown, are provided with upturned hooked ends b, adapted to catch over and engage ribs or flanges c on the under sides of the draw-bar head.

The shanks of the hooks E are in this instance shown as supported by pins d, passed 5 through their upper ends, which project above the knuckles; but this mode of attachment forms no part of my invention and may be varied to suit the ideas of the constructor, Having thus fully described my invention, and, again, while I have shown the support- I claim I ing-hooks E as separate from though carried The combination of the draw-bar heads A by the knuckles it is to be understood that, provided with ribs 0, the knuckles C pivoted 5 if desired, said supporting-hooks might be to said heads A, the hooks E having shanks 20 made integral with the knuckles. D extending through said knuckles and sup- It will be readily understood from the foreported therein and provided at their lower going description and the drawings that in 'outer ends with upturned portions adapted case of the pulling out or breakage of either to engage the ribs a, substantially as and for IO draw-bar instead of its dropping to the roadthe purpose specified.

bed it would be caught and supported upon 7 the hook E of the opposing draw-bar, and FRANI ANDERSON- thus all liability of accident from the drop- WVitnesses: ping of a draw-bar upon the track is entirely OWEN N. KINNEY, 15 obviated. EDWARD PEoK. 

